There Will Be Bread: How to Use Stale Bread Neapolitan Style
While pizza is the undisputed king of Neapolitan cuisine abroad, it is the humble loaf of pane (bread) that crowns every Neapolitan table. As a source of comfort and succor, it democratizes the family meal. No Neapolitan feast is complete without it. How else would we sop up that remaining patina of sauce on our plates?
With recent social distancing measures, most of us in Italy aren’t venturing to the bakery every day for bread. It is well worth it and an easy sacrifice to make. We need to protect the most vulnerable members of our decidedly inter-generational households. But that doesn’t mean we don’t miss those daily trips to the bakery.
My morning routine in Naples often starts with a trip down roughly 400 stairs to the curving thoroughfare of Corso Vittorio Emanuele. It is there I commence my daily rounds of butcher, baker and (not candlestick maker but…) barista. Our new quarentimes mean that while markets are open, daily trips out are heavily discouraged.
But my same little corner market on Corse Vittorio Emanuele still sells bread. From tortoise shelled rosetta rolls to rustic pane cafone and hunks of focaccia. Now when I buy bread, I remember, each household has a responsibility to make it last. Bread is the faithful servant of every Neapolitan table. As such, it is also a cardinal sin to throw it away.
Many older Neapolitans recall the Four Day Revolt of 1943 when locals kicked out the Nazis. And the Cholera Outbreak of 1973, when a writer for the New Yorker observed, “In its roughly 2500 years of existence, Naples has unquestionably suffered more than its fair share of disasters ranging from wars, revolutions, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions and bombardments.” By 1980 Naples would suffer another devastating earthquake.
Yet Neapolitans remained and continue to remain resilient. Neither cholera, nor the Nazis, nor Vesuvius nor Napolean Bonaparte have managed to squash the soul of the city. COVID-19, though serious, does not stand a chance against the same Neapolitans who fiercely beat tambourines and dance the tarantella from their balconies, injecting moments of musical levity into our otherwise dreary days of quarantine.
And the meals just keep coming. This means the bread, in all its glory, must take different shapes in the kitchen to avoid any unnecessary waste which nearly all Neapolitans universally detest. Their resourcefulness on the street and in the kitchen remain a sign of encouragement for the more mundane parts of the world that don’t happen to dwell in the shadow of Vesuvius.
In keeping with the Neapolitan tradition, we share tricks below of how to keep that bread out of the rubbish bin, on your table and where it belongs— in your bellies.
1) Bread Crumbs
This is the easiest way to use old bread. Remove crusts from stale bread (save those for tossing in soups or salads). Toast bread insides for 10 minutes in a 350 F degree oven and blitz in a food processor. For extra depth of the flavor, toast the crumbs again for five minutes. Store in an air tight container. These homemade bread crumbs are a life-saver in any pantry. Use to coat Milanese-style chicken or veal cutlets or to top a variety of oven baked gratins. They will add a welcome crunch to otherwise banal dishes.
2) Crostini
Crostini is the general term for any sort of toasted bread or crouton. As you bread hardens, slice into rounds or cubes, toss in olive salt, pepper and dried oregano. Toast on a rimmed baking sheet for ten minutes in a 350 F degree oven. Top bread with marinated vegetables to make bruschetta or serve toasted bread cubes in rustic lentil and minestrone soups. You can likewise store in an air tight container or zip-lock bag.
3) Gnocchi di Pane
In lean war times, gnocchi di pane (bread dumplings) were a true innovation. Instead of using potatoes or ricotta, you can make little dumplings of stale bread. Slice bread into cubes and soak in milk. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper and egg. Form into little balls and gently poach in chicken broth until each dumpling floats to the surface. Sauté in butter and sage or serve in soups.
4) Panade
A panade is the mixture of bread, milk and egg you form to keep countless minced meat mixtures tender. This includes meatloaf, meatballs and even eggplant balls. Soak crustless bread in milk and egg and form into a tick paste. Add to minced beef to form meatballs or meatloaf. This not only stretches the meat but keeps it tender.
5) Mozarella in Carozza
A sort of jazzed up Neapolitan grilled cheese, mozzarella in carozza is ideal for using stale sliced sandwich bread. Make sandwiches with mozzarella and/or ham. Dredge sandwiches first in beaten egg and then in salted bread crumbs. Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Slice into triangles and serve a platter as an afternoon snack.
